Northern Utah off road

I was wondering if there were any trails in the northern Utah area that ain't private property and free to wheel on in my Silverado. I am looking in more specifically the Ogden to SLC area. Will be in the area at the beginning of September. So if anyone would like to do a group run, I'm all for it.

You'll find a lot of places to go. First thing might be to simply find a decent atlas (like Delorme's Atlas and Gazetteer series). It isn't 100% accurate for those backroads, but it will be a good start. Or maybe you prefer the USGS topo maps. A couple of suggested trails/areas:

1) Ogden canyon/Monte Cristo area. Went deer hunting with my dad in this area one year. Several little roads that wander through the forest. We ended up wandering from Ogden canyon to Logan canyon over those roads, then I had to wander some other backroads on the way home when the main road got closed due to fire.

2) There's a "skyline trail" that runs along the top of the mountain above Farmington. Can't remember where the access points are, but I expect this one will have some spectacular views of the Great Salt Lake.

3) For a more historical tour, I recall seeing in one back country guidebook that the old transcontinental railroad grade is open across NW Utah/Box Elder county. You'd probably start at the Golden Spike NHM and head west. Or one that I've driven a few times is the old Pony Express trail across Tooele/Juab counties.

There is a particular author I like, as he has written some excellent guide books for off-roaders. Very detailed, wonderful pictures, and precise instructions. Unfortunately, he does not have one for Norther Utah or the SLC area, but I did find one for Moab. I know this is not the area you are looking for, but wanted to share with you the kind of book it is and how it is written in case you want to see if you can find a similar type by another author. These types of books are great as they not only serve as tour guides, but they map out terrain, difficulty, turnpoints by odometer or GPS coordinates, etc.

Good info so far. I used to live in Layton and Ogden up until 1993. I remember hiking up the mountains to snowbasin every month. Nice views along the way. Now that I'm older and got a 4wd, I wanna hit the trails and also get some photoshoots with my truck. I can't wait to see what's changed. When I left, they were tearing up the place to instal that Trax or whatever that light rail thing UTA has.

Well they are still tearing up land for the light rail. You will be amazed. Lots of off road in Northern Utah. Try going out to the Promontory point area and have a ball. Also lots to do in Fairview area when ther aren't fires burning as they are now. Of course Moab is famous for rock crawling but go west into the desert between SLC and Wendover lots of free space and take a weapon or two and take out some jack rabbits. Make sure you have plenty of water and don't stray onto the bomboing ground or a humvee will meet you with weapons pointed in yer direction. Been there and done that. Takes too much time explaining you were lost, especially with the GPS on you dash. Don't forget the Wasatch canyons which offer much scenery at that time of year as the leaves all change colors. New job keeps me out of town but may be available to run a few trails as a break. I will try to find out which arreas are open after the fires are doused.

If you go further East the Flaming Gorge area has a lot of trails and off road spots. Many years ago I used to camp there a couple times a year.
Moab is always a great place to visit but you gotta choose the correct time to go, that area has become one of the most visited off-road destinations and trafic jams arent out of the norm when trying to have a good time running the trails. Rangers try to do a good job keeping things orderly but theres always the element that thinks drinking on the trail and full thottle romps are what its all about, this is one of the reasons I stopped going there a few years back, which I really hate because the scenery is some of the best yo'll ever see.

If you go further East the Flaming Gorge area has a lot of trails and off road spots. Many years ago I used to camp there a couple times a year.
Moab is always a great place to visit but you gotta choose the correct time to go, that area has become one of the most visited off-road destinations and trafic jams arent out of the norm when trying to have a good time running the trails. Rangers try to do a good job keeping things orderly but theres always the element that thinks drinking on the trail and full thottle romps are what its all about, this is one of the reasons I stopped going there a few years back, which I really hate because the scenery is some of the best yo'll ever see.

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I haven't been to flaming gorge since pre 1993. Back then I was too little to focus on off road trails. I did do some hiking in the area though. We always went there for family reunions. I remember I used to be afraid of those cattle guard things (those metal bar things in the ground) haha. How far is flaming gorge from the Ogden area?

I would love to go to Moab but its not as close to the Ogden/SLC area as I would like lol.

In all honesty I couldnt tell ya how far it is, my visits there were about the same time as yours, I just remember it being a great place to wheel and camp, we would drive our trucks all the way from Northern California to go there.
Like I said Moab is a great place just choose your visit time wisely.